WooCommerce Alternatives: Top Platforms and Plug-Ins

WooCommerce is a free plug-in for WordPress. It turns WordPress sites into online stores, allowing store owners to build a website with product pages and a checkout. 

In 2015, WordPress’s parent company, Automattic, bought WooCommerce. More than 6.2 million sites use WooCommerce to sell online, as of February 2026. But WooCommerce requires additional free or paid extensions for some ecommerce features, so it’s not right for every store.

If you’re looking to expand your WordPress store’s ecommerce features or want to move to another platform, this guide offers WooCommerce alternatives.

WooCommerce alternatives at a glance

Here’s an overview of WooCommerce alternatives to start your search. It includes G2 ratings, which reflect verified user reviews submitted on a third-party business software review platform.

WooCommerce drawbacks: Why seek an alternative?

Here are some considerations when evaluating WooCommerce-enabled ecommerce stores:

Additional plug-in costs

While WooCommerce is free, a fully functional WooCommerce store can require multiple paid extensions, such as:

• Subscriptions ($279 per year)
• Product bundles ($79 per year)
• Gift cards ($79 per year)
• Marketing automation ($103 per year)
• One-page checkout ($79 per year) 

Depending on the features needed, total costs may be higher than on hosted platforms that include more features in base plans. 

Shopify, for example, includes all of the above features out of the box. Retailers report 22% lower total cost of ownership with this unified approach, on average.

Adrian Zhang, co-founder of The Woobles, experienced this firsthand. WooCommerce’s free option initially appealed to them, but they realized the time investment of making it work. “At this point I was realizing the high cost of free,” Adrian says. “I now had to figure out how everything works.”

Web hosting is not included

With WooCommerce, you arrange web hosting separately. That adds cost and complexity to your setup—and means your site isn’t automatically payment card industry (PCI) compliant.

Hosted platforms manage hosting on the business’s behalf. Shopify, for instance, manages server maintenance, security updates, and PCI compliance automatically.

File storage considerations

As your WooCommerce store grows, you may reach the file storage limit included with the basic plug-in. You’ll then need to add a paid subscription to WooCommerce’s Amazon S3 Storage plug-in to make room for your content and data. This costs an additional $89 per year. 

“We started with WooCommerce just out of the box and really hit that ceiling pretty quickly,” says Zachary Burgeson, chief marketing officer at CarBahn. “It was almost like WooCommerce was dictating our business, versus us dictating our business back to them.”

How to sell on WordPress without WooCommerce

1. Shopify Buy Button
2. SureCart
3. Ecwid
4. Easy Digital Downloads
5. MemberPress

WordPress requires plug-ins or other ecommerce tools to support online store functionality.

If you want to stick with WordPress, there are several WooCommerce alternatives. Some tools add commerce functionality with embedded checkout from another platform, while others are plug-ins that turn your existing WordPress site into an ecommerce site. 

Here are some options to consider:

Shopify Buy Button

The Shopify Buy Button creates custom code that merchants can embed into any website or blog without needing advanced technical skills. You can customize your button to match your brand identity and add individual product listings or product collections.

Unlike with WooCommerce (which works only with WordPress), you can embed a Shopify Buy Button code on any type of website, meaning you can set up online stores and start monetizing multiple sites at once.

Using the Shopify Buy Button is an easy way to integrate Shopify’s tools without leaving WordPress. You can sell:

• Physical products, including dropshipped items
• Digital downloads
• Subscriptions

Shopify’s checkout shows shipping estimates from companies like FedEx and UPS. To complete the sale, connect the Buy Button to more than 100 compatible payment gateways or use Shopify Payments.

It also gives you access to Shopify’s selling and online business management tools, and those functions can be managed through Shopify instead of WooCommerce. 

Shopify handles all back-end maintenance automatically, while WooCommerce requires WordPress users to manage plug-in updates and security patches themselves.

• Price: Included in Shopify subscription; plans start at $5 per month
• Free trial: Three days free; three months for $1 per month.
• G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.

SureCart

SureCart is a WordPress ecommerce plug-in that lets you sell physical and digital products, and subscriptions. It uses WordPress’s native block editor, Gutenberg, making it compatible with any WordPress theme.

Customization options include the ability to design your checkout and implement payment plans. The no code checkout editor lets you add fields, custom attributes, and conditional fields at checkout. SureCart offers free system maintenance and automatic website backups. 

• Price: Free plan entails a 1.9% transaction fee; paid plan is $179 per year and has no transaction fees.
• Free trial: No.
• G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Ecwid

The WordPress plug-in from ecommerce platform Ecwid is compatible with all WordPress themes and supports more than 70 payment gateways, including PayPal and Stripe. You can set up your checkout to show real-time shipping costs from carriers like UPS and FedEx.

You can also use Ecwid outside of WordPress. It supports omnichannel selling on social media platforms and on marketplaces like eBay, Amazon, Walmart, and Google Shopping. 

Ecwid offers a $5 per month plan, but this option only supports up to 10 products. The next subscription tier, the $35 per month Venture plan, lets you sell up to 100 products. If you want to sell digital products, you’ll need to opt for this $35 per month plan at a minimum.

• Price: From $5 per month.
• Free trial: No.
• G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Easy Digital Downloads

The Easy Digital Downloads plug-in is a WooCommerce alternative for WordPress sites that sell digital products.

You can sell an unlimited number of ebooks, music, document templates, or other virtual products on WordPress using the Easy Digital Downloads plug-in. However, it does not include support for selling physical products, so you’d have to add another tool to sell those items.

Features include a shopping cart and Buy Now button, which supports Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay payments. There’s an analytics dashboard to monitor sales and downloads, as well as native subscription, free trial, and discount code functionality.

• Price: From $79.60 per year.
• Free trial: No, but there is a 14-day money-back guarantee. 
• G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.

MemberPress

MemberPress is a WordPress plug-in for billing recurring payments. You can use it to sell digital products like online courses, subscriber-exclusive podcast episodes, or articles. 

Features include an integrated learning management system for hosting online courses and the ability to place content behind a paywall. The drag-and-drop course builder lets you drip course content, and the MemberPress platform supports both PayPal and Stripe.

MemberPress doesn’t support the sale of physical goods, so you’ll need to integrate another plug-in to your WordPress site if you want to sell merch or other non-virtual products.

The Launch plan, which costs $199.50 per year, imposes a 4.9% transaction fee on every sale. This fee is waived on the Growth tier ($349.50 per year) and Scale plan ($499.50 per year).

• Price: From $199.50 per year.
• Free trial: No.
• G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars.

WooCommerce and WordPress alternatives: Upgrading to an ecommerce platform

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Squarespace
• Wix
• Square Online
• Adobe Commerce

WordPress is a content management system (CMS), while dedicated ecommerce platforms are built specifically for online selling. This means ecommerce features such as checkout, inventory management, and payment processing are not included by default.

If you’re interested in migrating from WordPress to a dedicated ecommerce platform, there are two options to consider:

• Hosted. The platform manages all hosting, security, and maintenance for you.
• Self-hosted. You download and run the software on your own server.

Whether you opt for hosted or self-hosted, these platforms are designed to include a broad set of tools for selling online, with optional apps and add-ons to customize your ecommerce store.

Shopify

Shopify is built specifically for ecommerce. It includes tools for managing website design, payments, shipping, point of sale (POS), and other commerce operations.

Shopify includes features such as: 

• Fast load times
• The best-converting checkout on the internet
• Web hosting with unlimited bandwidth
• AI website builder 
• Free templates and themes
• Inventory management
• Analytics 
• Discount codes
• Gift cards 

For those who are ready to scale their ecommerce business beyond WooCommerce’s capabilities, Shopify’s infrastructure provides a solid foundation. 

Shopify secures web hosting, PCI compliance, and software updates for you, helping you maintain cybersecurity without writing any code.

That was the case for gym apparel and supplements brand Muscle Nation, who switched from WooCommerce to Shopify. “Our website crashed with only 80 visitors,” says co-founder Chris Anastasi. 

The company hired a developer to solve the problem, but the WooCommerce-enabled site crashed again after a product launch. “Our website was stopping our growth. We realized we needed to stop, rewind, and get the right infrastructure in place to stabilize us. Then we could focus on growing again.”

Shopify’s platform also includes Shopify Sidekick, which helps businesses with tasks such as writing product copy, adding or changing product image backgrounds, and corresponding with customers. It functions as an AI assistant that you can chat with for help and guidance throughout the platform.

Shopify also has an active community forum and help documentation to guide sellers through each stage of their ecommerce journey. 

• Price: From $29 per month.
• Free trial: Yes.
• Integrated sales channels: Yes (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Walmart)
• Mobile app features: Yes
• Native POS: Yes
• Website hosting: Yes, with unlimited bandwidth
• AI tools: Native to the platform

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a fully hosted ecommerce platform with an enterprise-grade product, along with an Essentials product for small businesses. 

The small businesses platform comes with website builder tools such as drag-and-drop page design and built-in mobile responsiveness.

BigCommerce also includes features like search engine optimization (SEO) tools and multichannel selling on Meta, TikTok, and eBay. 

• Price: From $29 per month
• Free trial: Yes
• Integrated sales channels: Yes
• Mobile app features: Yes
• Native POS: Yes
• Website hosting: Yes
• AI tools: Available via apps and integrations

Squarespace

Squarespace is a hosted website builder. All Squarespace plans include ecommerce capabilities, so you can sell physical products, services, content, and memberships through the platform.

Squarespace has a range of website templates to design your online store. The visual editor lets you drag and drop content elements to customize your site.

Plans start at $16 per month, but the Basic plan charges a 2% online store transaction fee on top of standard payment processing fees. The Core plan or above eliminates this surcharge.

• Price: From $16 per month
• Free trial: 14 days
• Integrated sales channels: Yes
• Mobile app features: Yes
• Native POS: Yes (using Square hardware)
• Website hosting: Yes
• AI tools: Yes

Wix

Wix is a website builder with drag-and-drop editing, customizable templates, and an AI assistant. Users can make a website for free, then upgrade to one of several premium plans to remove Wix branding and access ecommerce features.

Wix offers some ecommerce store functions in its $29 per month Core plan, like tools for payment processing, loyalty programs, and dropshipping.

• Price: From $29 per month for basic ecommerce functionality
• Free trial: Yes
• Integrated sales channels: Yes
• Mobile app features: Yes
• Native POS: Yes
• Website hosting: Yes
• AI tools: Yes

Square Online

Square Online is the ecommerce platform powered by Square POS. It offers a free plan to create an online store for free, but charges a 3.3% + 30¢ payment processing fee per online transaction for store owners on this tier. 

Square Online also comes with tools like product reviews, abandoned cart emails, and real-time shipping rates, though these features are available only on paid plans.

• Price: Free plan available; paid plans from $49 per month 
• Free trial: Yes
• Integrated sales channels: Yes
• Mobile app features: Yes
• Native POS: Yes
• Website hosting: Yes
• AI tools: Yes

Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento) is an alternative to WooCommerce designed for large, enterprise-level companies looking for a highly customizable platform. 

Using Adobe Commerce requires more technical expertise than other platforms on this list. A Shopify-commissioned study found Adobe Commerce’s total cost of ownership is 29% higher than Shopify’s. It also has 42% higher implementation and setup costs, and 42% higher platform fees and ecommerce stack costs.

• Price: Quote on request
• Free trial: No
• Integrated sales channels: Yes
• Mobile app features: No
• Native POS: No
• Website hosting: Yes
• AI tools: Yes

How to choose the best WooCommerce alternative

Choosing a WooCommerce alternative depends on the size of your store and its current needs, as well as your projected growth. Here are some considerations for guidance:

Platform type

Decide whether you need a dedicated ecommerce platform like Shopify or if a WordPress plug-in can meet your needs. 

This will depend on the number of products you plan to sell and whether you want a standalone solution or prefer to keep your site on WordPress, in which case you’ll need plug-ins to unlock ecommerce store functions.

“We realized we couldn’t grow our online presence while operating on fragmented platforms with limited control,” says Amanda Vogt Peer, chief digital officer at V’s Barbershop, on the brand’s migration from WooCommerce to Shopify.

“We needed a single, centralized database for our content, customer data, and business rules, that would enable smarter insights and provide a foundation built for scale,” Amanda says.

Ease of use

Open-source software like WooCommerce can require more hands-on technical management, depending on the site setup and hosting arrangement.

If simplicity is a priority, look for a platform like Shopify, which doesn’t require technical expertise. It has an AI website builder to design a fully functioning ecommerce website based on a prompt. 

“With WordPress and WooCommerce, I was completely out of sync with my agency,” says Vincent Arrouet, CEO and co-founder of Sunology. “Every time I needed to change a comma or anything, I had to create specifications, request a quote, wait for the developer to be available. ... It was not at all sustainable.”

Scalability

Consider whether your chosen platform offers the selling features your online business needs. 

For instance, if you handle large volumes of sales, a platform like Shopify can handle tasks like inventory management. On the other hand, if you need a simple tool to handle a few digital sales, a WordPress plug-in might suffice.

Hismile learned this first-hand: their WooCommerce site was prone to crashing during high traffic spikes. “Hismile switched to Shopify because we were battling outage and scale issues,” says co-founder Nikola Mirkovic. “Now our checkout processes a thousand orders in minutes with no worries.”

Cost

Evaluate the overall costs of each option. The total cost of a WooCommerce setup (including your web hosting, a WordPress subscription, a WooCommerce plug-in, and any additional extensions) may exceed the price of a standalone ecommerce platform.

The Skin Nerd, for example, migrated to Shopify from WooCommerce. “We have saved ludicrous amounts of money that we were previously spending on enterprise software,” says ecommerce manager Simon Flaherty, “including $10,000 a year on apps for The Skin Nerd, and about $35,000 on agency costs for Skingredients.”